14 



Both Harlan and Holbrook note the habit possessed by this animal of 

 leaving the water occasionally, but the purpose of so doing was not 

 known. No doubt it passes from one water to another in this way, since 

 in can creep readily and does not depend on the water for respiration. 



The writer has had the opportunity of studying the breeding habits of 

 the Amphiuma. At Little Rock, Ark. , on the first of September, a female 

 was found lying in a small excavation underneath a fallen tree trunk in 

 a cypress swamp. The tree was at a considerable distance from any 

 water. Her body was disposed in a coil, in the midst of which was a 

 mass of eggs. In these eggs were young so far advanced that they would 

 soon doubtless have been excluded. The young, which constituted the 

 whole contents of the eggs, were surrounded by a transparent capsule 

 about as thick as writing paper. The eggs were a little more than a third 

 of an inch in diameter, and were connected by a cord of substance simi- 

 lar to that of the capsule itself. This cord varied in length from a fifth 

 to a half inch. There appeared to be two strings in the mass, but of this 

 I was not certain. The whole mass of eggs resembled closely a string of 

 large beads. Of the eggs there were probably about 150. 



Within the eggs the young were coiled in a spiral. Their length is 

 something less than two inches. Each had three pairs of conspicuous 

 gills, and, since they were evidently nearly ready to hatch, it is probable 

 that they would retain the gills for awhile after entering the water. The 

 gills consisted of a main stem, from which were given off" eight or ten 

 branches. Three gill-slits remained open. The eyes appeared to better 

 advantage than they do in the adults. Though the gill slits are probably 

 present in the just hatched animal, they certainly do not remain long, 

 since Harlan mentions Q39, 189) having received specimens of only three 

 inches in length that did not exhibit the least appearance of gills. 



Not only does the amphiuma exhibit to a remarkable degree, for so low 

 a creature, the maternal instinct, but it is an animal of a good measure 

 of spirit. Dr. Shufeldt {50, 2, 163,) experimented somewhat with the 

 living animal. Into the vessel containing the amphiuma he threw a 

 dead snake. This the amphiuma seized quickly with its jaws and extend- 

 ing itself, began to whirl ai'ound rapidly in the water. After the snake 

 had been released, it was again thrown to the amphiuma, and the 

 movements were repeated. When the dead ophidian was presented to 

 the amphiuma the third time no attention was given it. While the 

 female that I captured was still alive, I placed her on a floor and 

 poked her a little with a stick. This she seized, and springing from the 

 floor, she whirled round and round in a spiral form and turned the 

 stick in my hand unless I held it tightly. 



These animals are remarkable for the size of their blood corj^uscles, 

 the largest furnished by any vertebrated animal, since they can be seen 



